My Nine Tailed Son
by TitaniumWyvern
Summary: The Kyuubi sealing did not end as well as was hoped. With his son in comatose, Minato was desperate for the only thing he had left of his late wife. By regaining his son, he gave a millennia old being another chance for a family.
1. Regaining a son

**CHP 1**

 **A.N.:** To be honest, this is the result of a random thought that passed through my mind after reading a 4-panel comic made by Safely Endangered, then decided to write it. I think it can serve as a divergence from my usual writing themes, because I want to make this a family centric story. I hope you can enjoy this short chapter and if you decide you enjoyed it, please let me know by reviewing (as I usually open FFN by the app, rather than website)

Life had not been easy for Namikaze Minato. He lost his dear wife not even 3 years ago and now he might lose his only son too. The young boy was not sickly, nor was he scrawny. But for some reason, he had fallen ill with something.

The doctors and medics had checked little Naruto for anything and everything, but there was nothing. He had feared it was the Kyuubi, but the seal was designed by three seal masters. Surely it was enough to hold the being?

The boy's chakra level, blood pressure, blood sugar, electrolytes, any sort of indicators were normal. So why wouldn't he wake up?!

Minato was not a religious man, never had been as his ninja life seems to make any religion moot… but he found himself praying to yet another deity today.

Yesterday was merciful Kanon, the day before was the Wise King Fudo, the day before was Accala, last week was the Sage. He had listed all the gods, goddesses, spirits, deity, and any higher power he had begged for help… but none seemed to help.

Like yesterday, he shuffled to his office to take his mind off his son, if even for a moment. Trying to busy himself lest the guilt, worry, and all the other emotions take his mind. But all he could think about was his little maelstrom.

"Hokage-sama, your son has awaken." A nurse told him.

He moved so fast he might as well had been using the Hiraishin. He gripped her by the arms and glared at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Are you sure? You're not lying, are you?!" He glared at her. This was his one and possibly only chance of regaining his family. He swore to himself, if this person lied for any reason at all….

"Ye… yes sir. Tsunade-sama had confirmed that your son is awake and in a stable condition. You may see him now."

"That… that's great. Thank you nurse, you may leave. I know where to go."

Once more, he left in a great hurry. Finally, after 3 long almost sleepless years, he can meet his son for the first time.

Minato appeared in the pediatrics ward in less than 10 seconds, leaving a still visible yellow streak on his trail. He took the same familiar steps that he had for the last 3 years and this time will be different. He will greet his baby boy and probably he should retire and be a full time father. He had so many plans, so much to do with his son. Pausing right in front of the door, he brushed his clothes to get rid of any dust that might had stuck on him. He then brushed his hair a bit; a quick glance at the mirror showed he still had the dark rings under his eyes, but that was not something he could fix now.

Finally deciding he was presentable enough, he entered his son's ward with the boy being entertained by Tsunade.

"Oh look, Naruto…. Your dad's here. Auntie Tsunade will go for now and be back for you later, ok?"

"Take your time, Minato. Just call me when he's sleepy, alright?"

"Thank you, sensei."

He couldn't believe his eyes, nor could he express his joy. Finally, his son his awake. Finally, he can be a father.

"Naruto, I'm your father."

"I know that." the boy replied. His voice was young as toddlers are wont, but the tone carried age, wisdom, and grace.

"You're not Naruto..."

"If you mean the soul who should be inhabiting this body, then no. Jinchuuriki creation is a tricky business you see."

"What do you mean?"

"Help me up, please." the blond boy raised both his hands, asking to be carried. Not seeing anything else he could do, the Fourth Hokage did as was asked and helped "Naruto" up.

"Thank you. That position was unfortunately starting to get unpleasant. Now where was I…. Oh yes. Jinchuuriki creation. Forcing a soul into a newborn is, quite honestly the epitome of madness I must say."

"You..."

"You humans don't seem to understand how unstable their souls are, some of them might not even have one yet. That is what happened to this body, in essence. You inserted my soul into an empty vessel and the one that should inhabit it can no longer enter it."

"So you…."

"Indeed, I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Nice to meet you in person, Namikaze Minato."

"Can you call me tou-san instead?"

"Excuse me?"

"Or tou-chan, or even oyaji. I don't mind either way."

"Were you listening to me?"

"I was, but I don't care who or what's inside your body. To me, you're my son and you're the only one I have left of my family. So… even if it's just once, can you call me your father?"

"Perhaps one day, but for now… I would engage in this… game with you, Namikaze Minato."

"That's fine by me. I don't think Kyuubi, Kitsune, nor Youko was your name. Can I ask..."

"Again, perhaps one day. For now, you may call me by your son's name. Naruto, was it? I'll need to get used to that name soon."

"Then, let's go home… Naruto."

"Very well, we shall."

 **A.N.:** Well, what do you think? If you like it, I will write more chapters of this. Thanks for spending your time to read this short snippet, and have a lovely day.


	2. Around Humans

**A.N.:** So… as I've stated in my previous update which was chapter 11 of Banchou of the Dead, I will try to achieve a monthly update for 3 of my stories: Banchou of the Dead, My Nine Tailed Son, and TakaTora Monogatari. At most this schedule will have 1 more story added to it, but I'm not sure about this yet.

In addition, I will most likely create accounts for a certain coffee purchasing platform and ptrn. I will update on this situation at a later date, so most likely in 1 month. Anyway, let's answer the reviews first, shall we? 

To **lVelixl** : That is quite accurate to what I want to do, but this chapter will cover the fate of Asura who was supposed to be reincarnated into Naruto. Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

To **Dasgun** : thank you

To **thor94** : I don't think I will. The reason is because Kurama is taking "Naruto" as his name for his current life. In addition, "Naruto" the reincarnation of Asura's fate will also be detailed in this here chapter 2. Hope you enjoy

To **Noah Rhodes:** thank you

To **ponyheart07:** Thank you. I hope to one day publish my own series of novels. It is taking a backseat for now though, so work on it is a bit slow as I'm trying to finish 3 stories for now with a monthly update schedule.

To **Guest** : Here you are! Hope you enjoy the new chapter

 **CHP 2 – Around Humans**

Three days had passed since his…. Resurrection? Insurrection? Re-emergence. Ku… Naruto… decided he would use the term re-emergence instead. Three years after he was put in this human body and now he was sitting on his bed, staring at a glowing orb flying around his head. It had been following him for some time and despite his best efforts to ignore it, it still followed him. He was tempted to just swat it away, but he decided against it. He was not at all sure what it was… but he was sure the orb was far from happy.

"You are not a mere pest are you?" he said.

The orb took offense to that comment as it flew more erratically than before. It tried to hit him by ramming his face, but it only passed through his body. Coating his hand in chakra, Naruto grabbed the glowing orb and brought it close to his eyes.

"A soul? I'm guessing you were originally supposed to inhabit this body?" the soul glowed brighter as if it was agreeing with him. Though faint, the buzzing seemed to have a certain pattern and after trying several things, Naruto tried something out that seemed to be able to turn the noise into something coherent.

"And unfortunately that can no longer be the case. Hmmm… you must be more than just a spirit. Who are you, I wonder… Wait wait. Let me guess… Asura?"

The soul glowed brighter, confirming his suspicions.

Xxxx

In the days since his son had woken up, it had taken some great effort to keep himself from smothering the poor boy. He had taken a long overdue leave of absence and instituted his teacher's wife as the interim Hokage. Minato was preparing a rather rudimentary breakfast of toast and miso soup when Naruto asked for a rather surprising request.

"I would like to have a younger sibling, please."

"Uh… well… it's ah… can I ask why?" His sputtering surprise was a pleasant spectacle for Naruto. He decided he would try more often to try surprising his former jailer's husband.

"Let's say… for the future of humanity."

"Umm…, a new child isn't like getting a new toy or kitchen appliance… I mean, I just got you back and… I don't think I have it in me for another relationship right now..."

"What does relationship have to do with a child?"

"Well, getting someone pregnant just to have a child is very, very frowned upon in human societies." Wow, just having conversations with his son is improving his eloquence already… but getting him to understand human society might be a problem yet.

"Hmmm yes… you humans have this pesky mindset, don't you. Are there any other options? Surrogacy programs perhaps?"

That was a surprise. Minato completely forgot Konoha had them. But how did his nine tailed son know about it?

"I can ask Tsunade-sensei about it…"

"Speaking of… how do you humans get anything done with these limbs? I can't reach anything nor lift anything with them." The former bijuu was annoyed at his short and weak arms and legs. Not to mention his new favorite treats of caramel apples were impossible to reach without his human father's help. Minato hadn't introduced him to ramen yet, but he had little doubt that when the bijuu turned human had a taste for them, he would be as ravenous for them as his late wife was.

"Ah well, they'll grow longer and stronger. Just give it time."

"And how long will that be?"

"Hmmm, a couple of years. In around 20 years you'll stop growing."

Not willing to wait even a moment longer, a pair of chakra chains burst from Naruto's back and carefully manipulated them to reach the bowl containing the treats. The Hokage was stunned at his son's abilities and immediately whipped out a pocket camera and snapped the first picture of the boy.

"My son is a chakra genius!" he cooed. He picked him up and hugged him in joy, rubbing his stubbly cheeks to Naruto's.

"Hey! Hey! Stop that and shave properly!"

Letting Naruto go, Minato called for one of his personal adjutants to arrange for a highly personalized baby sitter.

"Now I'm going to ask Tsunade-sensei, so I asked one of my students to stay with you. Be good for Kazumi-neechan ok?"

Xxxx

"Of course we have it." the interim Hokage's look was enough to make him question his own intelligence level. Now he felt ashamed just asking about it. The "it" in question was of course genetic materials of his late wife.

"We have most if not all high ranking clan shinobi have their genetic material stored. I'll have to check later to make sure though."

"Thank you."

"Now you just need to find a willing and suitable surrogate mother. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Huh? No… no, not yet… " If he were to announce that he was looking for a surrogate candidate, at least half of the women population of Konoha would happily agree. In addition to the moral problem, compatibility was also an issue. Will the surrogate mother be suitable to bear a child with Uzumaki genes?

"Well, no rush. These things can keep for quite some time, you know. Now that we've gotten that out of the way…, how is Naruto?" The young "prince of Konoha" was nowhere in sight and while Tsunade insisted that Naruto get more used to his home.

"Oh, he's great! He's real smart and not at all fussy. He eats everything and doesn't cry. At breakfast he made his first chakra chains, just like Kushina! My son is a genius!"

"Right… well, don't forget his next check up. I'll make sure Shizune is ready for him. Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, I asked Kazumi to babysit for a while. She's been asking me to see him for some time."

"Chakra chains, you said? You wouldn't mind if we drop by, would you?"

Xxxx

In the Namikaze home, there was a standoff between a veteran ANBU and a young boy. The prize, a bowl of apples treats. Both parties would not back down and the clock was ticking. Hatake Kazumi, codename Kakashi (Scarecrow), ANBU call sign: Inu (Dog) stood in front of the sweets, barring his path. Her sensei had instructed her quite clearly that he was not to have another bite of the sweets until dinnertime and she would carry out her mission perfectly.

"Please stop this, Naruto-kun."

"You shall not stop me." That line would have been more terrifying spoken by an experienced shinobi and infinitely more so by a rampaging bijuu. From a boy of 3 though, it was quite cute. No matter if the soul inside of him is a millenia old creature of chakra and destruction.

He had already prepared his chakra chains to sneak behind the woman and secure his prize. But curse this childish body, he was getting sleepy already! His eyes felt heavier by the second, but he would not let it stop him. He was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, destroyer of countries!

A single swing of his tail could level mountains can cause tsunamis. He would not fail here! While Kazumi was distracted by one chakra chain, he would send another and snag it from behind. This body might not have enough chakra to create many chains, but chakra finesse and control were nothing before the Great Destroyer of Nations™!

"See, what did I tell you?" Minato proudly said. The sound disturbed his concentration and the coiling chains clattered to the floor before dissolving into nothingness.

The Hokage opened the door with several guests behind him. From Kushina's memories that he remembered; they were Jiraiya and Senju Tsunade… Hashirama and Mito's granddaughter; along with a considerably younger version of her. Her daughter perhaps?

The houseguests were pretty much speechless at the sight of the glowing chakra chains. Jiraiya and Tsunade had seen Kushina use it before, but they were used in fights. The little boy in front of them however, had utilized what was probably the holy grail of chakra materialization like they were a second set of limbs.

"Sensei..." Kazumi greeted her teacher and promptly lost her focus on the standoff. Naruto in turn took the opportunity to take the caramel apples and enjoyed the sweet taste of victory.

Xxxx

The Senju family had been Minato's benefactor since he was a genin and the relationship had been further strengthened when his own teacher, Jiraiya married into the family. While the Senju clan had been one of the founding families, their numbers had dwindled significantly that only a single household remained in Konoha. However, the Namikaze family could be considered a branch of the Senju family and some feared the extent of this relationship between powerhouses.

"I really don't understand how you could stand to wear the hat, kid." Tsunade said.

Just several days in as Hokage and she already regretted her childhood dream. Day after day, it was meeting after meeting combined with relentless bitching from people whose names she already forgot. Civilian council member dumbass A, merchant association representative asshole B…, she really could not be arsed to remember any of their names. Thankfully she was just an interim Hokage, not the official one.

"I take it one day at a time. I mean the last three years it was… a good distraction. I mean, with Naruto..."

They understood perfectly. Work was the only way Minato had to stay sane for the last 3 years. Losing his wife, then a comatose son was not easy on anyone; and they remembered the haggard look he had sported for the time.

"Well, good to see he's fine." Jiraiya interrupted.

"Definitely, did you see his chakra chains earlier?" the blond man quickly shifted gears to doting father mode and proudly boasted about his son.

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade had had experience with doting parents, but none of them were ready for the level of pride Minato had on his son as he passionately talked their ears off. On the corner of the room, they saw the boy in question with his current babysitter and their daughter. Well, Kanon did say she wanted a baby brother some time ago… perhaps this new blond boy could be her new playmate.

Xxxx

The guests finally left after sunset and Naruto could not say he disliked it. It seemed his plans were coming along quite nicely. The materials needed to make his new siblings did exist and he didn't need to dig up Kushina's grave as he originally thought. While in the future he would realize just why humans abhor the thought so terribly, the present him was focused much more on his own "mission".

The time was almost midnight when Asura's soul appeared again in front of him. It circled around his head several times, trying to make sure his presence was acknowledged. With his current body, it was almost impossible for Naruto to stay awake, no matter how much he tried. So his "brother's" presence was less than welcome.

"The plan is in motion. You shall have a new body in one or two years. Now leave me, I wish to slumber." He mumbled out.

The soul glowed and dimmed as if it was trying to show its dissatisfaction, but Naruto would not be bothered with the childish tantrum. He sat up from his crib and his eyes glowed red for a moment.

"Asura, I have done what I can to help you. Do not take this as if I accepted being your servant. This is a favor… one you will repay. Use the time to think of what you want your next incarnation to be and start thinking beyond today. Now leave or stay, but pester me no more until the sun has risen."

Asura was surprised at the burst of anger, but felt guilty soon after. He had gone through multiple incarnations, but this was perhaps the only one where he would truly become family with one of his father's other nine children.

" _It might not be so bad…_ " he mused.

 **Post Chapter A.N.:** … and cut. I've decided My Nine Tailed Son will be a story with varying chapter length and will most likely be a slow burn type of story - at least in the first few chapters. I don't really have much to say at this point, other than the next update will show the Namikaze family's new additions.

As stated in the pre-chapter AN, I will most likely make ptrn and K-F accounts and I understand this might not be a popular choice, but this might be the only way to make sure I can make faster updates. In addition, I will include a short recap for my next updates. I think this will help save the readers' time so that they don't have to read through the previous chapters. Hope you enjoy the update and see you next time.


	3. Growing Family

**AN:** Yes, it's another late update. IRL's been hogging my time like crazy. Finally I can start my company soon, like really really soon. Anyway, now I realize that 3 stories a month is basically impossible, so I think December will be the last month of it. For now, I think 2 stories a month will be a more realistic goal and it will most likely be Banchou of the Dead and My Nine Tailed Son. Depends on the result of this month though.

Before we begin, let's answer some **reviews** :

To **Guest** : Thank you. I hope you enjoy the story.

To **lVelixl** : Thank you for the long review. I'll answer them in sequence: yup, approximately that long. This chapter will be a bit "serious", but more fluff will be available in the next chapter. Promise. Minato knows for sure that Naruto is actually Kurama and the reason he made chakra chains instead of tails is because he wanted more limbs that are stronger and longer. Shape wise, I think chains are optimal because they're flexible enough, thin enough that it won't accidentally knock something over and overall the best finger replacement for him. But that actually gave me an idea… chains for daily life, tails for combat? Barbed chains (like Spawn) for combat?

Not so sure what you think might come up, but maybe it will? I mean I'm trying to make the story as family centric as possible, so I don't think you'll see anything too wildly inappropriate (at least until the far future, like 5 chapters away). Not so sure yet though.

And now without further delay, let's begin **the new chapter**.

 **Chapter 3: Growing Family**

Naruto stared at the food in front of him. It was a steaming bowl of boiled dough with soup, meat, and other ingredients. 'Ramen'... Minato called it. He remembered it was Kushina's favorite food, but had never really tasted it as she did not and perhaps could not share any of her senses with him.

"Well, are you going to try it?" Minato asked.

"It is still steaming." Naruto pointed at the bowl with incredulity. Why would he eat something still hot?

"Ah, but that's when it tastes the best." his father replied.

Well, he had not led him astray so far… he would give it a try and he were to lie about it, Naruto knew how to get back at him. He took a tentative slurp at the noodles and his eyes widened dramatically.

"You like it?" The ramen chef asked. Ichiraku Teuchi, he remembered.

Naruto nodded vigorously. He had decided that this was a great dish that would be one of his favorites, a close second or even another first along with caramel apples. He glanced at his human father and went back to eating his noodles. He was still awkward in dealing with other humans, however Teuchi took it as him being a shy boy which was fine. His own Ayame was shy until she was 5 after all. Then she started taking charge and even bossed him around. Ah… children. What a mixed bundle of joy they were.

"Looks like he loves it, Ichiraku-san. Can we have another please?"

"Sure thing, Hokage-sama! Comin' right up!"

In the millenia he had been alive, he had eaten non-raw food. However, most of it was simple animal meat roasted over fire; without even the blood drained or the guts removed or cleaned. After this, he was pretty sure he could no longer go back to that type of life.

Xxxx

"And... where... are we going now?" Naruto asked with a yawn. After a fulfilling lunch; probably the best he had as a human, he was prepared to sleep, but it would not do to simply sleep on the side of the road like a vagrant.

"Well, you already look sleepy… so how about we go back home and you take your nap?"

"Don't… be… ridiculous. I'm… I'm fine." Naruto started to lag behind and his eyes felt heavier by the moment. He was really pushing himself, but he would be damned if he showed weakness in front of these humans.

"Come on then, it's time for a nap. Let's continue after you wake up, huh?"

Minato picked up his son in a piggyback ride. In less than three steps, the bijuu turned boy fell into a deep slumber. He smiled to himself, as an orphan himself... he did not experience much in terms of parental love. For that reason, he swore he would shower his children with all the love he could.

Now let's get his boy some proper sleep.

Xxxx

Evening in the Namikaze household had changed a bit these days. Every day there was at least one guest coming in to visit; most of them were also high ranking shinobi whose presence brought awe to the regular civilians. Today the guests were the Senju family who brought along with them a document that might change both families.

"Sorry, Naruto just slept and Kazumi is out on a mission today so I didn't prepare anything. How can I help you today?" Minato asked.

"This might be a surprise to you, but we actually have an offer for you and Naruto." Tsunade said. Off to her side was Jiraiya who seemed nervous with what was going to be said. Kanon was sleeping in his arms and the girl was snoring away happily. Behind them was Shizune who was finally able to take a break from her hospital duties.

"While you were away on leave, we had a certain issue that must be addressed." She continued.

"Simply put, some people think it's a good idea to give me new shit to deal with." She took a stack of documents from the pile on the table and lay it down. She did not look pleased in any definition of the word, but she close to slamming the stack down like she wanted to, but her sleeping daughter stopped that idea in its inception.

"After news of Naruto's recovery spread, people are now offering all sorts of ideas for him." She started to separate the stack into three separate stacks of different thickness.

"Marriage arrangement, branch family adoption, main family adoption... I don't even know who some of these people are." MInato was getting annoyed at the requests and decided that perhaps he had been too lenient on these people and needed to make a firm stand and statement to them.

"Which brought us to the next stack of problems. This time, they're for you."

"Burn them."

"You didn't even look at them."

"I know what they are. Some clan or prominent civilian family offering their sister, daughter, niece, or whatever to be my new wife. I can guess. A widower of a Hokage is like fresh meat to those jackals."

"Spot on..." Jiraiya commented.

"No problem, we'll tell them that they need to respect your wishes. At the same time, to help make sure these unsolicited offers are reduced or gone, I have an offer that involves… you." Tsunade said.

"Essentially, what hime is talking about here is…we want to adopt you. As our son." Jiraiya cut in.

Minato was stunned at the offer. For all intents and purposes, he had considered the Senju family as his own family. Jiraiya was his teacher, Tsunade was Kushina's teacher way before, and he had even helped them babysit Kanon.

"I mean, we're basically family anyway, so I just thought that… maybe we should just make it official. And… and… we don't have, like… real military or political power anyway, so… I think we can be kinda… a safe choice. I mean… " Tsunade was babbling at this point, trying her best to convince the Hokage to agree to their offer. To her, Minato and Naruto were her only ties to Kushina. If he refused her offer, she wasn't sure how she would take it.

"Would you mind to wait? I want to make sure Naruto is fine with it. I mean, it's a big decision."

"Yea… yea, that's fine."

"Do you want to stay for dinner? Naruto should be up soon, so I'm going to get some food delivered."

"It's ok, we have to go back. Kanon has a checkup soon, so we have to go to the hospital."

Xxxx

"What was that about?" Naruto asked. He boosted himself with the chakra chains and sat on the chair himself. It served quite well as an exercise and also, he was sure his human father was tired, no sense in making him even more exhausted.

"Ah, well… Naruto… how do you feel about having grandparents?" Minato asked. He really could have started the question differently, but this way he figured he could ease him into the real question.

"Was that what all of this was about?" Naruto pointed to a stack of documents on the table and took one look at it before realizing that he did not know how to read yet. So it was possible to absorb speech and verbal communication skills when he was adjusting to his body, but not written communication skills. Well, it made sense in a way; his eyes never opened one single time in those three years after all. But he was determined to master the language in as short a time period as possible.

"No, those are from a bunch of self-important people who thought they can throw their weight around. Those are not important."

"I don't see why you don't just get rid of those self-important people. If you're worried about evidence, you can just cut up the cadavers into several pieces then throw them into one of the forests. I believe area 44, Forest of Death is a good choice."

Minato had thought about it several times, but was surprised at his son's knowledge of areas in Konoha. However, he was quite concerned that his first suggestion was to just kill several people and throw the remnants for wild animals to eat.

"I'm pretty sure that's totally illegal."

"Well of course. That is precisely why you need to hide the evidence. Otherwise you should just hang them by the innards on the Hokage tower as a warning."

"I'll consider it for the future. So, what do you think if we have some more family members?"

"Have you finally decided on a surrogate?" Naruto was quite hopeful that his "mission" would be finished soon, but the look on his human father's face told him that was not the case. Ah… must be the question from before.

"No… not yet. Do you remember Tsunade-sensei and the Senju family?"

"They are Hashirama's family, yes? I remember she is the granddaughter of Hashirama and my first host... "

"Well….. They offered to adopt me."

"You seem a bit too… mature for an adoption… but I highly doubt their motives are impure. So, what is there to worry about?"

"We will have a bigger family and it means they might know of your secret. Will that be fine with you?"

"Oh, come now. I am a millenia old creature of pure chakra, I am capable of holding up a persona in front of mere mortals."

"Like that time you threatened to maim Kazumi simply because she wouldn't let you have more caramel apples?"

That was probably the first time he had managed to outwit his son and stunned him into silence. His integration into human society had been a slow process, but he was managing… in a way.

"But she didn't take it seriously, so no harm, no foul. Don't do it again though." Minato followed up.

"Very well. Regarding, this… adoption into the Senju family… I do not see any downsides to it. I will agree if you take their offer."

"Yea… I'm sure they would be happy about it."

"Now then… about my request, has there been any progress?"

"We're compiling a list of possible candidates, but I don't think it will be too long a list. Probably by next week we can have a chat with the potential surrogates."

Xxxx

The adoption process of Minato into the Senju family was easy and quick with few if any disagreements. While Uchiha Fugaku often disagreed with any policies that favored the Senju clan, he was surprisingly and suspiciously quiet this time around. In fact, he had given them a congratulatory gift of a gunbai. Naruto had insisted to examine the gift to make sure there was nothing amiss in it or with it. Now the new Senju family had a private party of their own in what used to be the Senju clan compound.

"Beware of Uchiha's bearing gifts. You may as well have eaten a salad of nightshade if you don't." Naruto explained.

He had checked it rigorously and was finally satisfied with it, but thought his new grandfather should check it. As his new family had heard him talk before, he could easily communicate. The issue was, there was no reason for _him_ to be too wary of a random object. To make sure the sealmaster had no choice but to check it, he took the gunbai and pointed it to Jiraiya.

"Look. Look." he said.

"Aw, does Naruto want me to look at the fan?" Jiraiya cooed. If only he realized whom he was talking to.

Nodding his head quickly, the old man obliged and took it from his hand. His first thought was to just look at it for a couple of seconds before returning it to the gift pile, but there was something _**off**_ about it. The fan itself looked normal in shape, everything else about it was something NOT Uchiha.

Instead of the oversized weapons they had once used in the warring ages, it was small enough to be held in one hand. The screen was made of wood instead of metal and there were none of the characteristic triple tomoe nor uchiwa of the Uchiha clan. Instead there were spirals above a vajra; both symbols of the Uzumaki and Senju clans.

Jiraiya turned it this way and that, trying to see if there was a hidden message, dangerous seal, or anything… unsavory in it somewhere. It was… safe at least, he couldn't find any hidden elements; dangerous or not.

"It's a pretty one, isn't it? But this is your dad's so you gotta ask him if you want it, ok?"

Naruto nodded and walked away to his human father. However, Jiraiya was a spymaster and knew that some things don't need a hidden explosive tag or poison cloud emitter to be dangerous. The fan was actually full of slight.

The Namikaze family had never grown to a large enough size to be counted as a clan and as such had now emblem of their own; reminding them of Minato's status as an orphan. The gunbai containing the spiral and vajra said that they would never escape the Uchiha or be greater than them. The positioning of the spiral above was also not a design choice nor coincidence. Jiraiya took it as meaning that the still living Senju family is still below the dead Uzumaki family. The size of the fan itself was also an insult; how their once great clans had been reduced in number to only a single household remaining.

When Minato saw it, he too had the same idea as his new father. He sighed at the gesture, leave it to Uchiha Fugaku and the other high ranking members of his clan to insult people relentlessly. Now he was considering what respond he should give to them. As their son, any slight towards them was a slight to him. While he could not lash back physically, he could give them a taste of their own medicine.

A token of their appreciation was expected, but he wanted to make them know their idea was far from appreciated. A subtle gift that served as a warning… Minato decided that asking his son would be a terrible idea. Given his suggested reply for a minor inconvenience, his suggestion for a true insult would probably be something that would be the stuff of nightmares.

No, he would need to come up with something himself or get his new parents for it. After a while, he came up with his own idea. Now, it would be best to ask if his parents agreed to it.

Xxxx

Several days after Minato's adoption into the Senju family was finalized, he delivered his reply by messenger; a team of fresh genin cell on a D-rank mission. He packed his reply into a box made from one of the chakra trees grown by Senju Hashirama himself. The box was lacquered red and had a brass symbol of Konoha on top of it.

The gift itself was a spearhead with the Uchiha clan emblem near the base and inside the box itself. It was secured to the box with a jute cord. The mirror sheen of the blade reflected half of the emblem back and on the tang was the name of the spearhead "渡り鳥" (Wataridori - Migratory bird).

As Fugaku opened the box, color drained from his face. The gift he had received was something more akin to a war declaration.

"Do you know what this means?" he asked the elders in attendance.

They were experts in non-verbal communications and symbolisms, it was impossible for them to miss. Red had been a common color in the Uchiha clan, but the polished brass emblem of Konoha would take away the viewers' attention away from the box. Combined, these meant "you are not the main strength of Konoha". At the same time, the usage of brass instead of gold pointed out that they were not worth as much as they thought. The chosen wood implied that their existence was due to the first Hokage's grace, not their own achievements.

The spear was commonly used by ashigaru soldiers, common foot soldiers while the samurai of old would rely more on their bows before using their spears; Minato essentially told them to know their place as a soldier. The symbol half mirrored on the spearhead implied that they needed to reflect.

However, the main point that made them even more wary was the arrangement of cord and the name of the spearhead. Cord (綱 - tsuna) when combined with the first kanji of Migratory bird (wataridori) makes "Tsunawatari" (綱渡り). The Hokage told them that they were walking on thin ice.

"Gather the others. We will need to convene on our next step." Fugaku said. However, he had missed something else in the gift, after all it was a simple and unassuming children's toy; a small monkey with a third eye on its forehead, crocheted of brushed and braided fox fur. The creature had been quite popular through a child's learning programme; the name was Satori (覚 - Consciousness). However, instead of the smile it was commonly depicted with, this Satori had a grin. Someone else also knew and he too could play this game.

Xxxx

 _Konoha hospital_

"Well son, looks like it's time for you to choose the lucky lady." Tsunade said with a grin. On her desk was a short list of five names; women who were compatible with Minato's own genes and his late wife's.

"Did you tell them about this?"

"Of course. We ran the test first, you see. Blood type, age, genetics, medical history, chakra levels, the works. Essentially we picked the ones who had checked all boxes and fit the bill. All of them are currently on active duty, but they are way overdue for a leave."

Included in the list was his last remaining student, Hatake Kazumi. He was more partial to her, but unless she herself personally agreed to it, he would go with the next person in the list.

 **Post Chapter AN:** And… cut. This chapter was a bit longer than expected, but at the same time shorter than I hoped it would be. Please review if you don't mind as I want to know how my readers feel about my stories. Hope you have a wonderful day.


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